The Rat

Haruki Murakami's A Wild Sheep Chase is an extremely weird tale following a Japanese advertising exec who is forced to search for a single sheep in the entire country. Written in 1982 and translated into English in 1990, there is a certain quirkiness that leaks into each page that is not commonly experienced. At each turn in the book there is a matter-of-fact tone that directly contrasts with the oddities that are occuring, and there are many interesting observations that stem from the differences between Japanese and Western cultures. The protagonist's girlfriend is "an ordinary looking girl", but she has amazing ears that when exposed make her the most attractive woman known to man.

Throughout the book there seem to be many clues and recurring themes, as well as detailed mentions of seemingly irrelevant backstories and anecdotes. One would think these would all build up to a climax where they all play a part, but in fact the end does not tie up any of these loose ends and instead introduces even more extra elements. In a way it is very frustrating; those who enjoy fairytale endings will not be happy. The plot is only minimally resolved and the narrator is left aimless and alone.



Even though the plot seems to go nowhere, the idle musings of the nameless main character make the book worthwhile.
Here are just a few:

- "With my eyes closed, I could hear hundreds of elves sweeping out my head with their tiny brooms... it never occurred to any them to use a dustpan."
- "It sounded like tripping down an up escalator."
- "From the pigeon's point of view, it was probably I who looked mindless."
- "Each woman has a drawer marked "beautiful," stuffed full of all sorts of meaning less junk. That's my specialty. I pull out those pieces of junk one by one, dust them off, and find some kind of meaning in them. That's all sex appeal really is."

You will either like this book for its quirkiness or tire of it for its lack of direction.